Some 45% of investors' votes were against approving directors' pay at the airline's annual meeting. But the vast majority of the no votes came from the founder and largest shareholder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, and his family. Other investors backed the payout.

McCall, who joined EasyJet in 2010, this year netted a long-term incentive payment of £4.5m on top of her £665,000 salary and bonus.

Haji-Ioannou has been somewhat mollified by the departure of his long-standing foe, chairman Mike Rake, and by the award of two dividends. He backed motions at the Luton AGM to approve an ordinary and special dividend which will net him around £80m.

Despite the substantial increase in the airline's share price, which has more than trebled in the last two years, Haji-Ioannou remains critical of excessive boardroom pay and wary of expansion plans, with EasyJet having placed an order for 135 Airbus A320s last June.

A spokesman for Stelios said: "The pay package is unfinished business and we reserve the right to take it up again if unnecessary."

EasyJet launched the first flights of a new service from Luton to Venice yesterday, with further expansion on domestic routes in Italy expected in coming months.